Blu-Ray Review: Disney’s ‘Mars Needs Moms’ Surprises, Delights

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CHICAGO – Sometimes all a film needs is a bad title to repel audiences. “Mars Needs Moms” is based on the Berkeley Breathed picture book of the same name, which derived its own title from the 1966 film, “Mars Needs Women.” Even as an obscure homage, the title falls flat, and most certainly could’ve been replaced. Yet that’s not the only reason why this woefully overlooked film became one of the biggest box office bombs in history.

“Moms” was the last film released by the Disney-owned studio ImageMovers Digital run by Robert Zemeckis, who broke ground with his early motion capture efforts beginning with 2004’s “The Polar Express.” Yet Zemeckis and his team have never been able to compete with the vastly superior work from Weta Digital, the studio behind “Lord of the Rings” and “Avatar.” Whereas the features on Zemeckis’s characters often appear embalmed, there actually seems to be a soul existing beneath the enormously expressive faces of Weta’s characters, most notably Caesar in “Rise of the Planet of the Apes.”

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0

That being said, “Moms” is a thoroughly enjoyable and startlingly inventive lark that deserves to find an audience on Blu-Ray and DVD. ImageMovers never quite mastered the art of character design, but its richly detailed backdrops and fanciful locations are utterly dazzling. The Blu-Ray’s impeccable picture quality is so vivid that it practically looks three-dimensional without the image-dimming goggles, and is actually preferable to view in its 2D format. Director Simon Wells (“The Prince of Egypt”) is the great grandson of H.G. Wells, and this film marks his first foray into science fiction since his botched 2002 remake of “The Time Machine.” Wells has far greater success here in creating a smart and sophisticated entertainment that has the potential to appeal to a wide range of viewers without sacrificing its intelligence. At its heart is a simple message for kids about treasuring the loving guidance of their mothers, but the script by Wells and his wife Wendy resists the urge to become mawkishly sentimental. Unfortunately, the film avoids any sort of emotional impact and never builds a real sense of awe, since its characters become all too accustomed to immediately accepting their mind-boggling surroundings. Yet on the level of funny, harmless, brisk and delightfully creative escapism, the picture delivers in spades.

Dan Fogler and Seth Green provide the movements for Gribble and Milo in Simon Wells’s Mars Needs Moms.
Photo credit: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

Milo (voiced by Seth Robert Dusky) is the film’s pint-sized protagonist, and looks not unlike the young hero in Zemeckis’s “Express.” His facial expressions are the most unnatural of the human characters, though that may be because his movements were provided by adult actor Seth Green. It’s a shame that a real kid couldn’t have done the job, though the sheer cost of motion capture technology may be so high that it has yet to be entrusted to a kid in a stunt-heavy performance (Tom Hanks played the boy in “Express”). When aliens in need of maternal guidance kidnap his under-appreciated mother (Joan Cusack), Milo climbs aboard the ship just before it blasts off toward the Red Planet, where he ends up connecting with a fellow Earthling (Dan Fogler) living under the moniker of “Gribble.” His annoying “gribbletastic” catchphrases notwithstanding, this role provides Fogler with his first worthy showcase on film. His improvisational riffs are as amusing as the hippie lingo scattered through the dialogue of Ki (Elisabeth Harnois), an alien who has learned about human culture solely through ’60s sitcoms. “Moms” may be flawed, but it’s infinitely preferable to kiddie time-wasters like “The Smurfs” and a whole lot more entertaining than “Avatar.”

Mars Needs Moms was released on Blu-Ray and DVD on August 9, 2011. Photo credit: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment

“Mars Needs Moms” is presented in 1080p High Definition (with a 2.4:1 aspect ratio), accompanied by English, French, Spanish and Descriptive Video Service audio tracks and is available on a four-disc combo pack with a Blu-Ray, 3D Blu-Ray, DVD and digital copy of the film. Special features include nearly a half-hour of deleted footage that largely expands on the character of Gribble, allowing Fogler to explore more intriguing shades of his character. A line where he angrily charges Milo with ruining his life was cut out of concern that it would make his character unsympathetic, though it would’ve made for a more realistic reaction in the final cut. A brief featurette explains that the Martian language was developed by the various actors, whose self-created sounds inspired the alien’s distinct dialogue.
 
Yet the real treasure in this home entertainment set is a feature length “Life on Mars” commentary track that is, quite simply, one of the most addictive extras ever made available to film buffs. It provides consumers with the option of viewing the entire film stripped of its motion capture effects. Aspiring filmmakers won’t be able to resist the opportunity to witness the elaborate ways in which each sequence is shot on a soundstage outfitted with various props representing doors, tree branches, etc. The admittedly hilarious sight of Green getting tossed around by stuntmen, rolling up and down ramps and being hoisted up into the air while wearing a skin tight Velcro suit is enough to make one wish that the next Christopher Guest comedy takes place on the set of a motion capture feature. This priceless live action footage may be viewed either full screen or picture-in-picture with the final cut. Wells, Green and Fogler provide optional audio commentary that is often as entertaining as the film itself. Green reminisces about working with Groundlings member Mindy Sterling (who plays the sneering Supervisor) in the “Austin Powers” pictures, and says that one of the benefits of filming a motion capture film is that fact that it allows actors to perform an entire scene without any cuts. He does, however, share one particular gripe he has concerning his onscreen avatar: “My butt looks like a pinched loaf of bread!”

By MATT FAGERHOLM Staff Writer HollywoodChicago.com [email protected]